By Louis McIntyre
For the Daily Titan

Cal State Fullerton offers several opportunities, both sporting and academic, for its students to experience while they attend college. One of these is the chance to study abroad.

The campus provides a number of programs which cater to each student’s personal needs. International and exchange programs set students up with another university overseas and provide assistance from their CSUF adviser. The university also has department-based programs as well as programs for graduate students. This gives students the opportunity to study in one of 19 different countries.

Junior business major Chris Africa studied in France last semester. One of the things he loved most about the experience was the spontaneity of it; each day brought different adventures.

“Studying abroad completes a missing piece to the real college experience,” Africa said.

Language barriers are no problem as CSUF provides the opportunity to study in English-speaking nations such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. If learning and developing another language is of interest, countries in Europe, Asia and South America are perfect.

Kathryn Morrissey is CSUF’s Study Abroad Program assistant. Her career was led down this path due to her experiences as an exchange student. Morrissey said that her one-semester program in Florence, Italy “was a fantastic experience” and why she is doing what she does now, encouraging students.

Morrissey has worked at the university’s international office for just over two years now and had been a student assistant for two years prior. The university also accepts many students from other countries. Fall 2008’s census showed CSUF had 1,282 international students from 77 countries.

Just because the country or university is not on CSUF’s list of partner institutions, it does not mean that studying there would be impossible. With the non-CSUF program, students are given the opportunity to study at any accredited program outside of CSUF as long as an official transcript from the host university is received by CSUF. Information on this program and other facts about studying abroad can be found at Fullerton.edu/StudyAbroad or by visiting the campus’ international office at UH Room 244.

Senior psychology major Bridget Contreras also recommends studying abroad. She studied in Denmark and said her favorite experiences came from staying with a host family and taking part in a different culture. She also spent Christmas with her host family, which provided her with insight on how other cultures spend the holidays. Contreras added that when studying abroad, a student should make sure that they “choose a country that is right for them and a program that is right for them.”

Africa also loved the cultural differences, saying he learned a lot by just going to class with students from different countries.

Resources are also available to help fund students’ international expenses. Scholarships and financial aid are just some of the ways assistance for studying abroad are provided. The university also has advisers who can help estimate the approximate costs of trips.

The opportunites to explore the world, live in another culture and make new friends are too good to miss. With all the resources at students’ fingertips, now is the perfect time to start planning your trip of a lifetime.